iPhone Plus Shown With 4.94-Inch Screen In Concept Image

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Rumors about a larger 'iPhone Math' have been doing rounds for a while and we have heard a lot of 'Yes' and 'No' about the larger version of the iPhone. Amid all these rumors and speculations, prominent Apple developer Marco Arment has come up with an expert's piece on why a big screen Apple smartphone would make perfect sense. In addition, he has shared a few images of what he thinks the larger version of iPhone, dubbed iPhone Plus, would look like.

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The mock-up images by the ace developer show how Apple could create an iPhone with a nearly 5-inch screen without disrupting the existing app ecosystem. He says the iPhone Plus is plausible as an additional model and not a replacement and so, the device can possibly have a 4.94-inch 16:9 screen.

"The theory is easy to understand: perform John Gruber's Mini-predicting math backwards. The iPad Mini uses iPhone 3GS-density screens at iPad resolution. What if an iPhone Plus used Retina iPad screens with iPhone 5 resolution, keeping the rest of the design sized like an iPhone 5?," Arment writes.

According to his theory, the 640 x 1136 screen with Retina iPad's 264 pixels-per-inch would measure 4.94-inch diagonally. The images below shows the big version would look like next to an iPhone 5:

He says the larger version of the device would not necessitate any app changes as it keeps the pixel dimensions the same as the iPhone 5 and the UIKit's standard metrics and controls still work well at that physical size.

A prominent voice in the Apple developer community, Arment says the iPhone does not have to be as big as Galaxy Note to accommodate a 4.94-inch screen. "It's clear that other manufacturers have found designs and techniques to make larger-screened phones require smaller bezels. Apple could achieve similar results and shrink the 'forehead' and 'chin' even further, limited primarily by the size of the Home button and the desire to keep the forehead and chin equal height," he writes.

There is a significant demand for larger-screened phones and the hot selling Galaxy Note and other Android smartphones in and outside the U.S. is a proof of the increasing demand. Arment feels Apple has lost a good number of sales because people wanting a larger screen don't see an Apple smartphone in the market. Buyers wanting a smaller-sized Apple phone can still go for the 4-inch models of the flagship Apple product while the Cupertino-tech titan can meet the ever-growing demand for larger segment with iPhone Plus.